For all you daily fantasy esports players, we’re here to get you ready for Week Five of the European LCS Summer Split. We’ll be doing a top two as well as one sleeper pick for each position (top, mid, jungler, ADC, and support).

Top Lane

Odoamne – H2K (20.2 FPPG/$7900)

Odoamne has statistically been a top two performing top laner in the EU LCS through four weeks so far. His 5.1 KDA is second only to Fnatic’s Gamsu, thanks in part to a decrease in deaths per game and an increase in kills.

Odoamne’s early lane dominance has also been a huge factor in his early success. His 5.6 [email protected] is one point higher than the next best top laner. That’s helped him establish a clear gold advantage at 10 minutes (202 – over 50 gold higher than the next top laner).

On top of all that, Odoamne will face two mediocre opponents this week. Origen’s sOAZ and Giant’s SmittyJ currently rank in the bottom five of top laners statistically. H2K will be favorites in both matchups, and I expect Odoamne to be a big factor in that.

Cabochard – Vitality (19.8 FPPG/$7800)

Team Vitality has struggled to find wins this split, but they have secured five ties so far (the most among EU teams). While Vitality’s lack of team coordination in team fights has been their biggest issue, through it all, Cabochard has consistently shown up each week.

Cabochard’s biggest strength has been his early game dominance. He’s secured 44 takedowns (most among top laners) as well as a 38 percent First Blood rate (also tops). His 7.8 CSPM is also top two in the EU LCS.

Vitality enters this week with two favorable matchups as well. Both Schalke 04’s top laner, Steve, and ROCCAT’s top laner, Parang, are in the bottom three for [email protected] and DPM. This should help get Cabochard going early.

Vizicsacsi – Unicorns of Love (16.8 FPPG/$7600)*

Unicorns of Love finally showed some life last week, taking down H2K for their second series win this split. A large part of that was because of Vizicsacsi’s play. He outperformed H2K’s Odoamne in both games, including a perfect game on Irelia (4-0-3) in game one.

Vizicsacsi has been a top three performer in CSPM (7.7), DPM (417), and DMG% through four weeks of play. Most impressive though is how Vizicsacsi has performed compared to his team. In 75 percent of UoL’s games, Vizicsacsi has posted the top two FPPG.

Just like the other two top laners mentioned, Vizicsacsi finds himself with a favorable matchup this week at a lower cost. He’ll play against Splyce’s Wunder (14.34 FPPG, lowest among top laners in the EU) and S04’s Steve (15.66 FPPG, third lowest among top laners).

Mid Lane

Fox – Schalke 04 (23.47 FPPG/$8000)

Mid lane has been a hotly contested spot through four weeks of the Summer Split. The quality of performances so far this split (eight mid laners are within three FPPG of each other) has really bolstered this position. One of those surprise performers has been SO4’s Fox.

Fox is currently top three in KDA (4.5), Kills (79), and CSPM (9.0). His early performance has really been the impressive part of his game, however. His 6.6 [email protected] is more than three points higher than G2’s PerkZ (second highest) and a whopping five points higher than Giant’s NighT (third highest among mid laners). That kind of early domination is Bjergsen-like.

Fox will be highly sought after this week thanks to S04’s opponents. Both Vitality’s Nukeduck and UoL’s Exileh are statistically bottom four performers among mid laners (Exileh’s 12.54 FPPG is 10 points less than Fox’s).

Febiven – Fnatic (20.9 FPPG/$7900)

It’s hard to ignore what Febiven has done so far this split. He currently has a 6.0 KDA, 1.5 points higher than the next best mid laner. The return of Yellowstar has really helped his game out as well, providing Febiven with another potential team member who can roam and gank his lane (a staple of Yellowstar’s game).

Febiven currently has the most kills among all players in the EU LCS (80), and his 8.8 CSPM is also top three among mid laners. Those kills and CSPM have helped Febiven average nearly 300 gold per minute, also highest among mid laners.

Febiven will have to face off against Giant’s NighT and G2’s PerkZ, two respectable mid laners in the EU LCS. This could slightly damper his fantasy projections, but not enough to stop him from being a top three mid laner.

NighT – Giants Gaming (21.7 FPPG/$7600)*

NighT has been one of the surprise rookie’s this split, jumping out to a very fast start. He’s played a huge part in Giant’s team fights, posting a 76.6 percent KP (highest among mid laners). He also ranks in the top three among mid laners for [email protected] and [email protected]

Where NighT needs to improve is his farm in the mid-to-late game and the amount of deaths. His 8.5 CSPM is second lowest among mid laners, and his 49 deaths also places him in the bottom three in that category.

NighT has been the epitome of feast or famine so far this split. In the games that Giants win, he averages nearly 40 fantasy points. When they lose however, that drops all the way down to 12.6. That’s nearly a 30 point differential and makes NighT a very risky pick. He should have a favorable matchup against ROCCAT’sBesty, but will most likely struggle against Febiven.

Jungle

Trick – G2 eSports (24.7 FPPG/$7900)

Sometimes the best strategy is just to stick with what’s working, and Trick has definitely been working hard this split. Not only is he the top performing jungler in terms of FPPG, but he’s also top three among all EU LCS players.

Get ready for a Rift’s worth of stats! Trick is currently top two among junglers in KDA (6.8), [email protected] (3.8), [email protected] (163), CSPM (4.6), and EGPM (250). Those are all signs of a dominant player, a trend I don’t expect to end anytime soon.

Trick will have a tough matchup against Fnatic’s Spirit (see below), but this shouldn’t put a damper on his weekly FPPG. He’s shown that he can perform even against the best competition.

Spirit – Fnatic (19.1 FPPG/$7900)

We saw glimpses of Spirit’s greatness last split, but he has truly turned it up a notch through four weeks of play so far. Both Spirit and Trick are statistically extremely close, and you can’t go wrong with picking either player.

Spirit is tied with Trick in KDA (6.8) and has a ridiculous 8.6 [email protected] (more than 5 CS higher than Trick). Those two stats are an indication Spirit does an excellent job of farming while still providing lane pressure. Spirit’s 4.5 CSPM is just .1 less than Trick (top two among junglers) and his 367 DPM is tops among junglers.

As mentioned previously, Spirit will have to face off against G2’s Trick this week. That will be a fantastic matchup to watch at not only a team level, but at an individual player performance level. I expect both junglers to show up and perform in the spotlight.

Jankos – H2K (20.6 FPPG/$7700)*

This isn’t a huge sleeper pick, but it feels Jankos has largely been overshadowed by Trick and Spirit so far this split. I feel this is a proper place to give Jankos his dues, as he actually averages more FPPG then Spirit so far this split.

Jankos potentially provides more value to his team than the two junglers listed ahead of him, in large part because he has to be the player that initializes fights for his team. His nearly 80 percent KP is second best to only Splyce’s Trashy. His DMG% (17.3 percent) and EGPM (216) are also top three among junglers.

The main issue with Jankos is his performance when H2K loses. As we just mentioned, Jankos has to be the one to get fights going for H2K. When he’s not successful, his performance can be really lackluster.

Jankos currently averages only 8 FPPG when H2K loses, which separates him from the likes of Spirit and Trick.

ADC

Steeelback – ROCCAT (25.3 FPPG/$8100)

Steeelback’s stats have been slightly inflated thanks to his out-of-this-world performance during Week Two. He came back down to earth in Week Three before slightly bouncing back in Week Four. He’s poised for another big week.

Steeelback will find himself with favorable matchups this week. Giant’s ADC, SONSTAR, has had difficulty against ADCs that can dominate the lane early on. Meanwhile, H2K’s Freeze has the lowest FPPG among ADCs when his team loses (an abysmal 4.1 FPPG).

Zven – G2 eSports (24 FPPG/$8100)

Former Origen ADC, Zven, has finally worked out the kinks with his new team and is really starting to come into his own. His early laning phase has been extremely dominant, posting a ridiculous 12.9 [email protected] (that’s 5 CS higher than Steeelback). His 9.7 CSPM is second highest among ADCs as well (only behind Rekkles 9.8).

Zven will have a tough matchup against Fnatic’s Rekkles before facing off against his former team, Origen. I expect him to have a monster performance against xPeke and Origen’s lackluster bottom lane.

MrRalleZ – Schalke 04 (20.8 FPPG/$7600)*

Do you know who has the highest KDA among ADCs? Nope, it’s not Steeelback, Rekkles, or Zven.

It’s S04’s MrRalleZ, with a 7.9 KDA. He’s top three in kills (63), assists (94), and lowest amount of deaths (20) among ADCs in the EU LCS.

MrRalleZ should be highly sought-after thanks to his two matchups this week. He’ll play both Vitality’s subpar bottom lane and against UoL’s Veritas (13.23 FPPG, lowest among ADCs). He should provide great value this week for his price.

Support

YellOwStaR – Fnatic (22.7 FPPG/$7500)

The only support in the EU LCS that averages over 20 FPPG, there’s no doubt that YellOwStaR is performing at the level many have expected from him. It doesn’t matter the matchup here, the value that YellOwStaR brings to his team makes him a top priority.

YellOwStaR continues to statistically rank in the top three in all major categories for support. He has the most assists by almost 40 (189 total), a 78.5 percent KP, and a 5.9 KDA.

Fnatic will have a tough day one matchup against G2, but then they should have a much easier series against Giants on Day Two. I like him either way, as he always seems to be in the right place at the right time, providing crucial vision and support play.

Vander – H2K (17.8 FPPG/$7400)

To some, it may come as a shock that Vander is ranked as the second highest support in terms of FPPG. His team has notedly struggled early on this split, and the transition from FORG1VEN to Freeze has looked good in the wins, but awful in their losses.

Vander’s 5.7 KDA and 76.1 percent KP are top three for support players as well. He also has the second fewest deaths among support at just 24.

I like Vander’s Day One matchup against Origen. We could see some team struggles on Day Two though, when Vander faces off against ROCCAT and Steeelback.

KaSing – Vitality (15.9 FPPG/$7100)*

When we’re looking for value at this point, it’s important to look at the matchups. This is a great week for Vitality and a favorable one for their bottom lane.

Where KaSing has provided the most value this split is in his vision control for Vitality. His 1.70 WPM an 0.44 WCPM are highest among supports in the entire EU LCS.

Vitality will have a tough matchup on day one against Schalke 04, but they should really excel on Day Two against Splyce.

Rachel is an avid gamer whose insatiable desire for all things gaming related has been augmented by the inconceivable growth of eSports and how competitive gaming is viewed. When she’s not busy writing about her favorite games, Rachel can be found playing League of Legends, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, or watching too much Twitch.tv.